


The Galaxy Paths II

by JKlog



Series: The Galaxy Paths [2]
Category: Spore (Video Game), The Sentinel (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, M/M, Sentinel Bingo, Spirit Animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-01 03:36:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16277057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JKlog/pseuds/JKlog
Summary: The relationship between Sentinel and Guide deepens.





	1. Prompt: favorite sound

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Bluewolf for the wonderful beta work.

They were on Tepsis planet, in its capital city. Jim and Blair enjoyed a vegetarian breakfast, although it included scrambled eggs. Jim had to adapt to the lack of meat as food on his friend's planet.

When they were enjoying a delicious purple spice pudding, Jim felt a rhythmic sound, as if someone were playing a drum. He asked Blair if he heard it too, and Blair said no. Intrigued, Jim got up from his seat and went to the dining room door, to see if that was where the origin of the sound was. But no, the sound was getting weaker, though he could still hear it. So the origin was inside the dining room. He realized that the closer he got to Blair, the louder the rhythmic sound became. In that moment he realized. The sound was the heartbeat of his partner. Smiling, he went back to him and told him.

"Amazing, Jim! Your hearing is extraordinary," Blair replied, grinning.

They had spent fifteen days in Tepsis, resting. Blair had taken Jim to see the most beautiful places on the planet. They had gone camping near the mountains and had walked in beautiful places. Jim had been amazed with the flora and fauna of the beautiful planet of scarlet earth and turquoise seas. Jim's home planet had a yellow surface and red seas. The Sentinel Knight promised his friend that he would take him to visit it one day.

The friendship between them deepened during that stay in Tepsis. They had had time to talk about their relationship as Sentinel and Guide. It was obvious to both that their commitment was to last a long time, even for life. They practiced a lot with Jim's senses. Blair tested his limits and was amazed by what his friend could do. But finally, their vacations ended and they had to leave again with their ships to sail the Galaxy.

While going around the Taggart Empire, they received a call for help from a system that belonged to another Empire, one they weren’t allied to, the Turtok Empire. On the planet Jahabies there was a city that was being devastated by the attack of giant animals. They required the help of the Omnipotent to overcome them. Blair and Jim rushed to help the aliens.

They descended near the city, where they were received by the Mayor.

"Thank you for coming to our aid," said the Mayor, with the help of a translator device. "We don’t know what to do, the giants are totally immune to our weapons."

"Don’t worry," said Jim, also using the device, "We have missile launchers that can knock them down. Just give us some of your soldiers and we'll go to search for them."

The Mayor appointed several of his guards to accompany Jim and Blair. They left immediately in search of the giants, after going to the ships to get the weapons they needed. The locals provided them with vehicles. Blair and Jim were in the same vehicle. The Turtok soldiers indicated where they had last seen the animals. But they weren’t there.

"Use your senses, Jim," Blair said, "You can probably hear them even if they're at a great distance."

Jim tilted his head a little and frowned as he listened. Blair guided him, making him discard the sounds of other animals and the wind, to concentrate on what mattered.

Suddenly, Jim raised his eyebrows. He had heard the giants. He indicated on the intercoms where they should go, and the others followed him. The giants were in a clearing in a forest. As soon as they saw the vehicles arrive, they began to throw balls of fire that came out of their mouths. One of the six vehicles was hit. Its occupants were able to leave quickly, but the vehicle was destroyed.

Jim and Blair opted to get out of the vehicle before the animals attacked them. Jim took the missile launcher and prepared to target one of the animals. The soldiers tried to distract the other giant while Jim aimed, firing at him with his ineffective weapons.

The giant, who was a horrible type of dragon, remained standing when the first missile hit, but a second brought him to the ground. The other giant, a species of ape, gave a deafening roar at the death of his companion. Apparently ready to avenge him, he threw himself at Jim. Jim prepared the missile launcher, which couldn’t choose a better time to get stuck. Blair watched from a distance, in dismay, as the giant approached Jim, who was trying unsuccessfully to unstick the weapon. The soldiers kept firing, but their weapons were as effective as mosquito bites.

At that moment, Blair thought that his life was less important than the life of his Sentinel, and interposed himself between the beast and his friend. He began to wave his arms over his head to attract the giant's attention. And he achieved it.

The horrible animal, which was about thirty feet high, threw a ball of fire. Jim watched in terror as the fire surrounded his best friend.

"NOOOOOOO!" he shouted. Then, with the weapon finally unstuck, he launched a missile and then another, killing the terrible animal.

Throwing the gun aside, he ran over to Blair. He took off his tunic to extinguish the fire with it. His friend was severely burned, but he was alive. He covered him with his tunic and lifted him in his arms, to take him to the vehicle. The head of the Turtok soldiers communicated with the city and warned of what had happened, so that they took the necessary precautions to take care of Blair.

But Jim didn’t hear anything, all he could hear was the sound of his friend's heartbeat. He thought that was his favorite sound in the universe.

.................................................

 

Luckily, the Turtoks were more advanced in medicine than in weaponry. They put Blair in a reconstitution capsule and in just a few hours, his tissues were repaired. Everything except his hair, which, according to the doctors, would grow back over time.

When they took Blair out of the capsule, they took him to a very comfortable room. Jim went to visit him immediately. But the young shaman was asleep. The doctor explained to Jim that he had been given a sedative, so that the young man would overcome the horror of being burned alive. Jim understood that, and thanked him for everything they were doing for Blair. The doctor told him that this was the least they could do for the help the two of them had given the Turtok Empire.

Jim stared at his friend, feeling, on the one hand, very sad about what had happened to Blair, and on the other, marveling at the sacrifice he had made for him. Actually, that went beyond the limits of friendship. He wondered if he would do the same for Blair, in similar circumstances, and realized that yes, he would. He felt the beginnings of a deeper feeling being born within him.

 

Tbc…


	2. Prompt: Truth or Dare

Jim was sitting in a comfortable chair next to the bed, watching his friend as he slept. He was a little sorry that Blair had lost his hair, but really that wasn’t the worst thing that had happened. While the Turtok had managed to rebuild his body, thanks to their advanced medical technology, it remained to be seen if there would be psychological effects.

He saw a movement out of the corner of his eye at the foot of the bed, and when he turned his head he saw something that stunned him. A gray wolf and a black jaguar were there, watching him intently.

He brought his hand to the lower part of his back, where he had his weapon. But something told him that those animals weren’t a threat. The black jaguar came up to him and put his head on his lap. Jim gently scratched behind one ear and the animal purred with pleasure.

"Where did you come from?"

The cat moved away from Jim and approached the wolf, proceeding to wash the head of the canine with his tongue. Jim watched them, amazed. At that moment, Blair began to wake up, slowly.

The first thing he saw was Jim, but he wasn’t looking at him, he was looking at a point beyond the foot of the bed, his mouth half open. Blair looked over there, but saw nothing. He feared that the Sentinel was in a zone out.

"Jim! What's wrong, Jim?" he said, as loud as he could.

The Sentinel Knight turned his head quickly. He smiled when he saw that his friend was awake.

"Hi, Chief! How do you feel?"

"Well, but, Jim, what were you looking at?"

"Can’t you see them?" Jim asked.

"What do you mean?" Blair frowned and looked back at the foot of the bed. There was nothing.

Jim debated internally for a moment whether to tell his friend what he was seeing. He decided to keep it to himself, and maybe talk about it later, when Blair was fully recovered. That was really strange, and if he was losing his mind, he really didn’t want to think about it at that moment. Besides, the animals had already disappeared.

"Nothing, Chief, I thought I saw a shooting star through the window."

It seemed obvious to Blair that his friend was lying to him, but he decided to let it go for the moment. His head felt cold and he lifted a hand to touch it. He stiffened when he realized that he was totally bald.

"Hey, Chief, do you remember what happened? Because I have to tell you that you regrettably lost your hair. The doctor said it would grow again."

Those words calmed the young shaman. The hair would grow back.

"Well, I guess it's a matter of waiting," he said, and sighed deeply.

"Do you remember what happened?"

"I just remember that the giant was about to attack you. Then I got in the way. I don’t remember anything else."

Jim looked at him affectionately. "It's a good thing you don’t remember. Better like that. But I have to tell you that I don’t know how to thank you for what you did for me. If the fire had reached the missiles I had, they would have exploded and I’d be dead. Probably more people too. What you did required a lot of courage. You are the bravest living being I’ve ever known, and the best partner I could wish to have. "

Blair's eyes filled with tears. Moved by Jim’s words, he only managed to raise his right hand for Jim to hold it tight. Jim took the pale blue hand and laced his fingers with Blair’s. It was a good thing that the physical conformation of both was so similar, despite belonging to different species. There was certainly enough diversity in the Galaxy to make it very difficult to find another being with five fingers on the hands.

 _Now would be a good time to tell him how I feel about him_ , Blair thought.

 _Now would be a good time to tell him how I feel about him_ , Jim thought.

But neither of them said anything, both fearing the rejection of the other.

...............................................

 

The next day, in the morning, Blair got up from bed and dressed, judging himself totally recovered. When the nurse saw him, she immediately called the doctor.

The doctor examined him and saw that really, at least physically, Blair was fine. He asked him some questions to see how he felt psychologically. He saw that the young man didn’t seem to have any problems, apparently having much more resilience than the Turtok doctor expected.

At that moment Jim came in, not expecting to find his young friend up.

"Hey, Chief! Are you already being dismissed?"

The doctor answered for him. "Yes, the Omnipotent Blair can go."

"Yes!" Blair yelled, raising his right fist. He didn’t like hospitals very much, even though he had never been to one before. He was also eager to launch himself into space again with his Sentinel.

The doctor and the nurse left. At that moment, Blair noticed that Jim looked with an astonished expression at one of the corners of the room.

"Jim, are we going to continue playing Truth or Dare, or are you going to tell me once and for all what you're seeing?"

Jim turned to look at Blair. He was about to ask if he didn’t see them, but obviously not. He decided this time to tell him the truth, he didn’t earn anything by hiding it from him.

"I see two animals. A black jaguar and a gray wolf."

Blair looked at where Jim had been looking, and opened his eyes as big as they were. He saw them! The two quadrupeds were lying down, as close to each other as possible.

"Jim, these are our animal spirits! I don’t understand how I didn’t see them before. I was taught about them when I did my training as a shaman. I wonder which one is mine and which one yours."

"The jaguar is mine and the wolf is yours."

"How do you know?"

"I just know."

Sentinel and Shaman looked at each other, grinning. They looked towards the animal spirits, but these had disappeared. Jim put an arm around his friend's shoulders and together they left the hospital.

.............................. ..

 

After fulfilling the formalities of thanks and farewells with the Turtok Empire, Jim and Blair got on their respective ships. They spoke on the intercom.

"Where are we going now, Chief?"

"To the center of the Galaxy, Jim! We're going to fry some Grox butts. How about that?"

"Fantastic. Let's go!"

 

Tbc…


	3. Prompt: Black or White

They had, again, to take a lot of resources to ease their trip to the center of the Galaxy. They needed weapons, energy packs, repair packs and food, although they knew that they would be making allies along their journey that could supply them with what they needed.

When they came almost to the edge of where the Grox Empire began, they found a civilization that hadn’t yet reached the space stage. Blair knew how they could help them reach it. They had a monolith among their tools. By placing it on a planet in previous stages, its evolution accelerated, passing from one stage to another with great speed.

They were in the Balatidos system. They went to the planet Baque, where the Bal civilization was. They descended and placed the monolith near one of the cities. Later they would return to see what had happened.

........................................

 

They entered the Grox area, and were immediately attacked. They went down to a planet and put on their shields. They responded to the fire with the Mega Pulse. It was a very powerful weapon, but it used up a lot of energy from the ships.

After defeating the Grox ships, Blair set out to terraform the planet with the Staff of Life. That way they would kill the Grox that inhabited it, because they could only live on T0 planets. Despite the fact that they had done it many times, Blair and Jim were amazed by the wonderful and instantaneous transformation that they achieved with the Staff of Life. They could see from their ships how trees and shrubs first emerged, then different types of animals. Even the colors of the planet were transformed. In this case, the earth turned yellow, having been gray before, and the seas, which were once black, became green and full of life.

Blair carried many Colony Incredi-Packs, so he was going to expand the Sandburg Empire a bit more. He placed a colony on the surface of the planet, which expanded quickly, laying the foundations to build a city. Then he placed the necessary buildings so that the Sandburg citizens could live and the turrets so that they could defend themselves. Then he put an Uber-turret, to guarantee the defense of the whole planet and a Bio-Protector, to avoid ecological disasters.

Having done all that, they repaired the ships from the damage the Grox had inflicted on them before entering the planet's atmosphere (the shields couldn’t be put there) and recharged the energy with several energy packs. They decided to go down to the planet. They landed the ships on a beach near the city. They descended from the ships and got together for the first time since they had left on their journey to the center of the Galaxy. They looked at each other smiling and ran towards each other to merge into a tight hug. Jim took the opportunity to stroke Blair's hair, which had grown a lot, but was still shorter than it had been when they met. When they parted, Jim put an arm around Blair's shoulders, and Blair put his arm around Jim's waist. Then they witnessed the most beautiful sunset on the sea they had seen in their lives. It wasn’t the first one they saw together, but it was certainly the most significant one.

.......................................

 

After conquering several Grox systems, they found a civilization in the space stage, in the middle of the Grox Empire. They really didn’t expect to find that there, considering that the Grox didn’t tolerate anyone else and tended to destroy any different civilization.

It was the Ashona Empire, in the Aspeder-3 system. The planet was called Coberras. When they communicated with them, they could see on the screen the image of a being with scaly green skin, with brown extremities. He had a prominent jaw and two white fangs protruded from each side of his head. His hands were claws with very long nails. They couldn’t see his eyes because they were covered by rectangular lenses.

The intercom translated the words of the alien.

"Identify yourselves, intruders!"

"We are Blair of the Sandburg Empire and James of the Ellison Empire. We request permission to enter the orbit of your planet," Blair said.

"You don’t have our permission. And you'd better get away, if you don’t want us to attack you," was the bellicose response.

Jim and Blair, amazed by the strange reception, left the planet Coberras. In their trips through the Galaxy they had met with all kinds of civilizations, but they were generally willing to receive them and negotiate with them. What had happened to them with the Ashona Empire was something new.

Jim was outraged. "How dare these, these, ... individuals, treat us like this? They are the same as the Grox!"

"No, Jim." Blair tried to calm him down. "If I have learned something in my life is that not everything is black or white, there are always nuances. Surely something happened to the Ashonas that made them distrust strangers. It must have something to do with how close they are to the Grox."

"Yes, you're right." Jim calmed down at his friend's reasoning. "Maybe we should try to convince them that we aren’t a danger to them."

"Okay, Jim. Let's go."

They went back to the planet Coberras and once there, Jim sent a message through the intercom.

"Attention, Empire Ashonas! We are not allies of the Grox, I repeat, we are not allies of the Grox. Actually, we are their enemies. We are willing to prove our goodwill. Please, receive us."

For a long time, there was only silence. When Jim was going to repeat the message, there was a static noise, then the response from the Ashonas.

"You'd better prove that, or we'll destroy you." Then again silence.

Jim thought of a way to prove it. He told Blair, and he agreed.

"You can look with your telescopes at the planet Icareban, in the Betillistino-2 system. It’s not far from here. It belonged to the Grox Empire, but we conquered it. We also terraformed it, now it's a T3 planet."

The Ashonas spokesman was silent while, surely, they were observing the planet in question. About twenty minutes passed, during which Blair and Jim feared that their test wasn’t enough. Finally, the Ashonas answered.

"Blair of the Sandburg Empire and James of the Ellison Empire, we have seen the planet that once belonged to the Grox Empire. Now it is a T3 planet, therefore the Grox can’t live on it. It is sufficient proof of your goodwill. What do you want? Trade with us?"

Blair did a small dance of victory in the cabin of his ship. Jim smiled and hurried to answer.

"We have red, yellow and blue spice to sell. We are interested in buying pink and purple spice. We also need energy packs."

The Ashonas were very pleased to trade with Jim and Blair. After exchanging merchandise, Blair asked them the important question, if they would be willing to sign an alliance with their Empires. The Ashona Empire agreed and soon the papers were signed. It was very important, considering that his new allies were so close to the Grox.

 

Tbc…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As for the speed with which the monolith acts to accelerate the evolution on a planet, or the speed with which a planet is terraformed, I must clarify that it is so in the Spore video game, in case someone not familiar with the game wonders how it can be like this. And this series is a The Sentinel-Spore crossover.


	4. Prompt: Crossroads

After conquering several Grox planets and terraforming them, they realized that they were very tired again. They decided to take a little vacation, but always being vigilant in case they were attacked.

The planet Icareban was beautiful. It reminded Blair of his home planet, because it had turquoise oceans and rivers, although the earth was green and not red like in Tepsis. They went to an area of the planet that was mountainous and full of lush vegetation. It was also full of animals, and some of them could be dangerous. But Blair wasn’t worried because he was confident that Jim could sense them if they got too close.

In addition, there was a river in which they could fish. Jim liked that activity a lot and Blair was taking a liking to it, having learned on his Tepsis vacation. They caught several fish and Jim cooked them to eat for his dinner. Since Blair couldn’t eat meat, they also cooked several edible vegetables that they had picked earlier. Although they had appliances that cooked in their ships, which were nearby, they both preferred the old method of cooking on the fire.

After dinner, they sat near the fire, because the night was quite cool. They were drinking green spice tea. Jim looked at his friend, who was on the other side of the fire, and thought that he had never seen someone more beautiful. Blair's hair had grown back to its original length. In the light of the fire, it had a special glow, with nuances that ranged from mahogany to gold. His eyes were a brilliant blue, and they stood out on his pale blue complexion.

Jim decided he couldn’t be that far from Blair and got up from the trunk he was sitting on, to sit next to his Guide. He received him with a smile. Jim passed his cup of tea to his left hand and put his right arm on Blair’s shoulders. Blair rested his head on his Sentinel’s shoulder.

It felt so good to be like this, together, that for a moment both of them forgot all the things that seemed to separate them. Not only were they two individuals of the same sex, but they were from two different species. Maybe not the Sandburgs, but the Ellisons would surely oppose a relationship between them.

But at that moment, neither of them thought about that. In the freshness of the night it felt so good to feel a warm body nearby, and even better being the body of the person they loved most in the universe. They both thought at the same time how good it would be to feel the other's lips on theirs, and turned their heads to do so. Jim felt Blair's breath and kept it indelibly in his memory, along with his body scent and the sound of his heartbeat. Then, their lips joined in a first kiss that was chaste and shy. But it didn’t stop conveying everything they felt for each other.

When they parted, they looked into each other's eyes, blue on blue. It was obvious what they felt, it wasn’t necessary to say it. Reluctantly, Jim separated from Blair and got up to put out the fire. Blair went to rinse the cups on the riverbank. Then, without saying anything, they entered the tent they shared. Jim pulled his bed closer to his partner's and arranged them so that it was a single bed. When they were only in their underwear, they lay on their sides in order to be face to face. It wasn’t necessary to talk about feelings, but there were some doubts, that Jim thought it was better to talk about them from the beginning.

"Blair,... have you ever ... been ... with a person of your same sex?"

"No, Jim. Never. And you?"

"Yes, although my father would die of disgust if he knew. But we aren’t only two men, but we are of different species. That will be a first time for me. Although we have already seen ourselves without clothes and we aren’t so different, except for the skin color."

Jim saw that Blair closed his eyes and could smell the scent that told him he was feeling scared. Maybe he was going too fast.

"Blair, we don’t have to do anything now. I can wait until you decide."

Blair opened his eyes and smiled, grateful. He really wasn’t ready to have sex with Jim.

Jim turned off the light and they both fell asleep in each other's arms.

...........................................

 

They continued their vacation a few more days, still without intimacy. Jim decided that Blair was going to need a lot of time to get used to the idea. They kept sleeping together, though. It was going to be difficult when each had to be on his own ship.

They said goodbye to the colonists on the planet Icareban and decided to go to the planet Baque, in the Balatidos system, where they had placed a monolith. With great joy and satisfaction, they saw that the Bal Empire had reached the space stadium. They were told they had helped with the monolith and the Bal were very grateful. They immediately became his allies and offered them a ship to accompany them, which Jim and Blair politely refused. They didn’t need another ship, for now.

.................................

 

After spending a lot of time wandering through the center of the Galaxy, fighting the Grox, Blair and Jim received a communication from the Ashona Empire.

"Blair of the Sandburg Empire and James of the Ellison Empire! We are being attacked by the Bal Empire. We need your help!"

Then only the static noise was felt through the intercom.

Jim saw Blair's very worried face on his screen.

"Jim, the Ashona Empire is our ally and so is the Bal Empire. We need them both. What shall we do?"

"I don’t know, Chief. We’re at a crossroads."

Blair thought for a while.

"Well, we have several possible courses of action. We can defend the Ashonas, and go to war with the Bal. We can help the Bal, and go to war with the Ashonas. Or we can try to convince the Bal to make peace with the Ashonas, and the Ashonas to forgive the Bal. What do you think, Jim?"

"I think the last you said is the best," replied the Sentinel Knight.

"Okay, we'll do that," Blair said.

Having decided this, they went to the planet Baque.

 

tbc...


	5. Prompt: Resolutions

Jim and Blair decided that it would be better to talk face to face with the authorities of the Bal Empire. They would have to act with great diplomacy to convince them to withdraw their attack on the Ashona Empire.

They announced their arrival, and their intention to speak with the authorities, through the intercom. They left their ships near the walls of the capital city, and headed towards a huge door. When it opened, they entered and were received by the Mayor of the city. The Bal were humanoid individuals, but with yellow skin furrowed by green and brown lines at the extremities. The Mayor’s eyes were brown and very large.

They put the translator's device to work and started talking.

"What brings you here, Omnipotent?"

"We are here because we are very concerned about the situation with the Ashona Empire," Blair said and watched as the Mayor frowned. "We are worried because they are our allies, just like you. We would really like you to have a good relationship with the Ashonas. They are good people, just like you. Besides, you could benefit from such an agreement. It’s much better, no doubt, to have an ally than an enemy. You can’t trade with an enemy," Blair finished, hoping his arguments were enough.

The Mayor seemed to have calmed down a bit. "I understand what you're saying, Blair of the Sandburg Empire. We attacked the Ashonas because they destroyed the ships we sent to make contact with them. Our first intention was to trade with them. You are right that you can’t trade with an enemy. But I can’t make the decision to withdraw the attack. The Great Council is the one that takes the important resolutions. I'll call them now."

Blair and Jim were authorized to observe the Grand Council meeting. Its members argued heatedly about the pros and cons of the attack on the Ashona Empire. Sentinel and Shaman were satisfied when the verdict of the Great Council was to finish the attack and remove their ships from the planet Coberras. They thanked the councilors and the Mayor for their resolution and hurried to go to the planet Coberras.

Once on the planet of the Ashonas, they informed them of their mediation in the conflict and of their success in getting the Bal to withdraw the attack. The Ashonas were very grateful. When the delegation of the Bal Empire arrived, the peace agreement was signed and the two Empires began to trade.

Blair was proud to have achieved peace between his two allies, and Jim, although he was a warrior, was also proud. Blair had managed to turn his warmongering heart into a heart of peace, except for what concerned the Grox. But Jim would never admit it out loud.

..................................

 

They came to conquer and terraform more than fifty planets in many other star systems. Although their ultimate goal was to eradicate the Grox from the Galaxy, they knew it was a very distant goal. The Grox possessed more than two thousand star systems, all located in the center of the Galaxy. Therefore, it would be a long time before they achieved their goal.

For now, Jim had closer goals, such as his relationship with Blair and how much he missed him even though he often saw his image and heard his voice through the intercom. He wanted to have Blair close, as close as possible. And so he told him.

"Blair, I can’t stand this separation anymore, me in my ship and you in yours. We have to do something about it."

"You're right, Big Guy. But what can we do?"

"We can keep one of the two ships and sell the other. Then we can ask an ally to accompany us with another ship."

"You're right. Is it okay for us to stay with my ship? The Return Ticket tool is too useful to let go."

"Yes, Chief. I was thinking the same. We’ll sell my ship. It’s going to be difficult for me because I’m very fond of it, but I’ll adapt. It’s also more important that we are together."

"I have one thing to tell you, Jim. I received a message that my mother is in Tepsis. I really want to talk to her, I need to talk to her. Is it okay for you to go there after selling the ship?"

"It seems good to me, Chief. Whatever you need."

.............................................

 

They managed to sell the ship to the Bal for five million sporebucks. The Bal were very happy because the ship had technology that they didn’t know.

When Jim entered Blair's ship, they both embraced and kissed passionately. They had been separated for a long time. Then Blair opened the tool panel of his ship and chose the Return Ticket. A portal opened in front of the ship and they crossed it, to be in Tepsis on the other side almost instantly.

Blair sighed, happy, because he was on his home planet and also because he would soon see his mother. He landed near the capital city, where he knew she was. He had announced his arrival through the intercom and there was a welcome committee waiting for them. They received them as heroes. They put flower necklaces around their necks, which made Jim feel a little uncomfortable.

Blair thanked everyone for the attention they were given, but let them know that he was there to talk with his mother. The welcoming committee told him that they would go to look for her and bring her to him, and Blair was very satisfied.

They were in the gardens of the City Hall when Blair saw Naomi arrive, accompanied by several officials. He received her with open arms. She returned his hug, while over Blair's shoulder she saw a strange Knight dressed in black, who smiled at seeing them embrace.

"Mom! What a joy to see you!"

"Same thing, sweetie."

"I have to introduce you to someone," Blair said, standing at her side to point at Jim. "This is Jim from the Ellison Empire, my friend and partner."

"Hi, Jim," Naomi said and took the hand that the Knight offered her.

Jim felt a bit bad for being introduced as a 'friend and partner' but he supposed it was still too early for anything else.

"I have to talk to you about something very important, Mom."

"It's okay, Blair, whatever you want."

"Forgive me, Jim, but it has to be private. Do you excuse us?"

"Of course, Chief. I will stay here talking to the officials."

Blair put his index finger in his ear to tell Jim not to use his Sentinel hearing, although it was really unnecessary, Jim understood his need for privacy.

Naomi and Blair walked away through the beautiful gardens of Sandburg City Hall.

"What's that so important that you have to talk to me?"

"It's about Jim, mom. About my relationship with him."

"You're in love, right?"

"Yes, we are. I have never felt anything like this before. But it’s a terrible problem. We’re not only of the same gender, but we’re of different species. What should I do, mom?"

"Have you had sex yet?"

"Mom!" Blair blushed to the roots of his hair.

"Well, did you have it or not?"

"No, mom, not yet."

"And what are you waiting for?"

"Mom, it's very difficult. Jim wanted to, but I ... well, ... I'm a little scared."

"Blair! You talk as if you've never had a sexual relationship."

"But I never had it with someone of my same sex, much less of another species. That's why I needed to talk to you. You know me better than anyone. What should I do?"

"You must do what your feelings tell you. Do you love Jim? Really love him?"

"Of course, with all my soul."

"Then surrender to him, body and soul."

Blair stared directly into his mother's green eyes. He could see the sincerity in them. Although his mother could be wrong too. She had never had a stable relationship in her entire life, including with Blair's father, whose name she claimed she didn’t know. But he had to trust her, for who else could he trust? She knew him like no one else and could see that he was very much in love. He was going to follow her advice.

He was going to give his body and soul to James of the Ellison Empire.

 

End of Part Two.


End file.
